Thursday, March 25, 2010

American model and television host Michele Merkin, 34, was born in San Francisco, reaching 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) by the age of 14, played basketball in school and began modeling part time from the age of 15. She modeled for 15 years, living in Paris, Milan, New York, and Los Angeles, and appeared in such magazines as ELLE, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and over 60 commercials. It included campaigns for Clairol and the Nintendo video game Perfect Dark, for which she appeared as the lead video game character Joanna Dark and in-store promotions; Merkin's hair was cut short and dyed black for the appearances. Merkin co-hosted the cable television program Foody Call with Rossi Morreale, a reality show which combined cooking and romance, by teaching men to seduce women with food.